WASHINGTON/SAN MARINO, Calif. (Reuters) - Joe Biden, courting donors at a fundraiser in California on Thursday, began his remarks by reading directly from a whistleblower's complaint that President Donald Trump sought foreign interference in the 2020 election.As Trump faces an impeachment inquiry over his demands that his Ukrainian counterpart investigate Biden, his top Democratic rival is striving to turn the growing political crisis to his advantage, raking in donations and taking to national television to make his case to voters that he is the Democrat best able to beat Trump next year.

A whistleblower report released on Thursday alleged that Trump not only abused his office in attempting to solicit Ukraine’s interference in next year's election for his own political benefit, but that the White House also tried to “lock down” evidence about that conduct.